The Spiral
by lyo24boi
Summary: A request/award for CMT1992, 'The Spiral' is an anguish/drama set in the near-future of the Season 3 canon. Scott and Isaac have been attacked but only Scott has been left in a seeming coma. Derek comes back to avenge his brother and fix the broken pack he left behind. SCISAAC.
1. Half One

**| The Spiral, Half One |**

"Where is he?" Derek asked, storming furiously down the hall of the hospital wing.

Aiden stood up first, glaring at the older beta. "He's in with Scott." Ethan quickly joined his brother, standing just behind him to back him up.

"What room number? 'Cuz I'm gonna' kill him."

"Derek, it's not his fault," Ethan tried.

"What. Room. Number?"

Ethan rolled his eyes and turned around, walking away while rubbing his face with frustration.

"Stand down, Derek," Aiden said, his eyes glowing bright blue.

"Oh, so you're giving orders now?" Derek leaned in a little closer. "I've been at this a lot longer than you," he said with a sharp smile.

Suddenly, the doors to the ICU wing opened and an older heavier-set nurse walked out. "I'm gonna' count to five and if I don't get a good explanation, I'm calling security."

Derek whipped around and immediately put his best 'distraught face' on. "I'm sorry. I just found out what happened to my brother, Scott. He's here somewhere and I just wanna' see him."

She looked at him skeptically, sizing up the oldest of the men before her and nodded. "Melissa didn't mention she had another son," she said as she scanned her card to unlock the ICU doors.

"I'm Scott's half-brother," Derek lied, looking at the twins' disbelieving faces. "Technically."

She looked back at him, still skeptical before showing him into the secure wing. Immediately, he spotted Melissa sitting outside a room, her face buried in her hands with her elbows planted firmly in her thighs. Derek stopped for minute, his rage subsiding after seeing the alpha's worried mother. Finally, after one too many nurses looked in his direction, and the sound of another card swiping came from behind him, Derek made his way slowly over to Melissa.

He sat down softly, looking at her as she refused to bring herself to sit upright. Although he'd only ever met this woman a handful of times, he felt for her, in a way he felt for his own mother when she had lost her sister. Derek put his hand on her shoulder nearest to him and tried as best as he could. "I'm gonna' make this right, Melissa." She made no attempts to move, and with his words they only seemed to make her cry harder. Derek stayed there a minute before getting up, walking through the closed door next to her.

The sight before him tempered him even more: Isaac had his back to the door, laying the side of his head on Scott's still hand. His eyes were closed and Derek, by the looks of the blonde, guessed that he'd cried himself to sleep. Scott, on the other hand, looked as though he would pass at any time. His skin was pale and clammy and the place beneath the gauze pad on his neck was clearly infected. He had tubes and wires in a number of places, the most notable of them being the tube running into Scott's mouth, likely running all the way into Scott's stomach, Derek guessed. This particular tube, unlike the IV, was sucking substances out of the alpha, and as Derek feared, it was the same black liquid he'd seen secrete from Jackson, Gerard, and his own sister Cora.

He walked around to the far side of the room and took a seat across from Isaac. Scott, despite it all, looked so peaceful; it's the he should look if they can't fix _this_ in time. Derek's face looked the same as when Cora had been in the hospital from mistletoe poisoning and a concussion eight months earlier. He looked at Scott as his brother, and by all rights, he was. Deucalion hadn't been wrong that night: had Derek and Scott actually fought, it would have been 'like brother against brother.'

Isaac stirred and slowly looked up. Derek had come to the hospital with all the intent of reading Isaac the biggest riot act he'd ever drummed up. But seeing the blonde, here and now, completely distraught over his dying boyfriend, Derek just couldn't sum up that energy. "Hey," Derek said first. Isaac looked at Derek warily, slowly sitting up straight and wiping his face.

"Hey," Isaac said shakily.

Derek looked at Scott and Isaac followed. "I'm gonna' fix this," Derek said simply. Isaac immediately began to break down in front of Derek and the older beta only looked at his former packmate in a more serious light. "Isaac, I need you to get yourself together." Isaac looked at Derek and nodded, wiping at his face again. "You were with him so I need you to tell me everything that happened." Despite his abrasive look in that moment, Derek did his best to control his voice so Isaac would respond and not slip into any defensiveness.

"I…" But Isaac froze, the words too traumatic to leave his lips.

"Relax," Derek said even more calmly. "Close your eyes and breathe. Think back, what happened?"

"I…I remember walking with Scott. We'd just had dinner with Stiles so we were heading home. We took his bike and…everything happened so fast…"

"Isaac, think, what did they look like? Where did they come from?"

"They, uh, god it was so dark. They took out the lights and…I…"

"Isaac, it's okay. Relax. Breathe in again. And out. Try and focus on that night. Do you trust me?"

"Yeah, why—?"

And Derek was suddenly behind him, driving his claws into the back of Isaac's neck. He could see everything: walking out from the diner to Scott's bike. There were nine of them. They came out from between a dense cluster of cars. Scott and Isaac only had seconds to react when one of them opened fire—a standard Uzi. Their senses had saved them before they engaged their attackers, but it was when Scott and Isaac engaged these men that things got blurry. 'Derek' could only make out a few of their faces, and each of them had some Asian features and were clearly gifted in martial arts oriented to combat werewolves. When 'Derek' saw Scott fall, a heavy syringe injecting something into the alpha's neck, the memory ended two second later when a mace hit 'Derek' square in the temple.

Derek stumbled backwards, his claws drawing out of Isaac's neck and back into his hands. "I thought you didn't know how to do that," Isaac said after regaining his orientation.

"I've been learning…" Derek began, his mind running back to the memory. "They were _ry__ō__shi_…but why?" Derek's face reflected his confusion, looking down at the corner of the room.

"Derek, what are you talking about?"

"Your attackers. They were Japanese hunters. _Ry__ō__shi_. Out of all the hunters they're the most ruthless and organized. You're lucky to be alive. But why are they here? Why Scott?" He looked down at Isaac's confused face and that seemed to snap him out of his zone. "I gotta' go. I need to look into something." Derek rushed out of the room and soon found Ethan's voice calling after him.

"Derek!"

Derek stopped and turned around to look at the twins. "Look, I know who attacked them. They're not going to come back so you two don't need to be his guard dogs anymore. You wanna' help, come with me." The twins exchanged looks and nodded.

"Derek." It was Isaac. "I'm coming, too."

— | RIS | —

Although Derek may have been right, Isaac wanted someone there guarding Scott; he was tired of sitting around doing nothing and when Derek arrived, that gave him the proper motivation to find these people and put an end to this. As such, Ethan selected to stay behind, while Aiden, Derek, and Isaac rode off to a destination only known to the older beta. "Are you gonna' clue us in?" Isaac began after all had been quiet for five minutes.

"Before my mom died," Derek began, "she taught us about the hunters and their clans. All of them are matriarchal…all of them except for one. The _ry__ō__shi_. Like I told you before, they're the most ruthless of them, but do you have any idea why?" Both Aiden, who was sitting in the back, and Isaac, who sat in the passenger's seat, shook their head. "They like to kill their victims slowly."

"That's why they injected Scott," Isaac deduced.

"In the memory, there were nine of them. Nine is an unlucky number in Japan. It's often equated with suffering. That's how the _ry__ō__shi_ operate."

"So where are we going?" Aiden asked, leaning forward so his head was almost between them.

_Bzzz, bzzz. Bzzz, bzzz._

"It's Stiles," Isaac stated before answering it. "Hey." … "No, there's been no change." … "Within the hour? Good. Listen, I'm with Derek and Aiden. We're chasing down a lead." … "Yeah, message me when you have the results." … "Thanks, Stiles." Isaac hung up the phone and shoved it back in his pocket. "Deaton's running a test on the black liquid coming out of Scott. Based on samples he's collected in the past, he thinks he might be able to figure out what they injected him with."

"Text Stiles," Derek ordered. "Tell him if they figure out to start looking for a counter-agent immediately. Don't wait to clue us in."

"You don't think they…wait what's going on Derek?"

"I told you there's always nine of these guys, right?" Isaac nodded. "If I'm right about all this, and the _ry__ō__shi_ really are behind this, then Scott doesn't have much longer. The number nine is associated with suffering. The number four…it means death."

"And he's been in the hospital for almost three," Aiden confirmed, falling back into his seat.

— | RIS | —

When Derek finally stopped the car, Danny's car was already there, Danny and Cora leaning against the trunk waiting. "Reinforcements?" Aiden asked quietly as they got out.

"Would you rather storm the castle alone?" Derek retorted, looking at the local Buddhist temple before them.

"Are you sure this _is_ the castle?" Aiden replied with an asshole-smirk. Derek only looked at him, sure that this was the place.

"I'm surprised you came," Cora said, looking at Isaac.

"Something you wanna' say?" Isaac said, posturing up to her. Danny slipped his arms between and glared at them both. "I did the best I could, and I'm not gonna' be judged by you of all people."

"Fine," Cora replied, "but you can watch your own ass."

"Enough," Derek interrupted. "For all intents and purposes, we're a pack right now. For Scott." Cora glared at her brother but when his hard eyes met hers just as well, she nodded. "When we get in there, follow my lead." The group nodded and they made their way in. Derek walked in first and before the others could even join him, the man looking out at the front spotted him and took off running. Derek rolled his eyes and ran after him, the others following.

After chasing the man through several hallways and up a flight of stairs, the group found themselves in a large open room with a red oriental rug laid out in the center, stretching almost from corner to corner. It was dimly lit, the only light source coming from a number of candles embedded into the walls. They walked in slowly, each of their blue and yellow eyes glowing bright, their claws and fangs already protruding.

And then door they'd come through closed. They all turned back to look at it when another sound filled their ears: the door on the other side opened. Five men walked out and Derek and Isaac recognized them from the other night. Derek, Isaac, and Aiden's mouths opened and retracted as they taunted the men with a growl. They slowly moved forward when the door behind them opened again; two more had entered. Cora and Danny turned to face them, both ready to move on Derek's signal.

But that's when all went to hell. Between the five werewolves, the final two dropped down from the ceiling. They moved to stab with katanas, one at Aiden and the other at Isaac. Aiden was quick enough, side stepping and sending an open set of claws through his attacker's jaw. Isaac, on the other, hand, wasn't so lucky…


	2. Half Two

**| The Spiral, Half Two |**

_Isaac, on the other, hand, wasn't so lucky_: the sword aimed at him pierced through the right side of his abdomen and twisted. "Ahhhh!" Isaac cried out, his hands immediately grabbing onto the blade and forcing it back out of him. Derek swung around simultaneously, forcing his own claws into Isaac's attacker's chest, right below their neck. The otherwise ninja stumbled backwards before collapsing to the ground, just as the hunters on the forward end of the room drew forth crossbows that had been strapped to their backs.

"So, that's how it is," Derek said aloud. Isaac, who'd fallen to a knee, lifted himself back up and glared down the room at his opponents, ready to charge.

"Derek?" came Danny's voice from behind them, and Derek stretched his neck back.

There he saw at the other end, the two men had drawn forth large shields. "Run!" Derek yelled, darting for the windows to his right. He crashed through one just as heard the piercing of air, followed immediately by a massive explosion that sent a great stream of fire chasing after their fall. Derek landed smoother than the others and Isaac the hardest, the wound in his side not healing properly. With no time to analyze it, Derek immediately took off, the cars on the opposite side of the building. They ran and they ran hard, hearing movement behind them and what sounded like the reloading of weapons.

The cars came within sight and just as they were about to pass through the opening in the brick wall that surrounded the temple, Derek crashed and flew back. With too much momentum behind them, Aiden and Cora did just the same and Derek's back collided with Isaac and Danny. The movement behind them stopped and they looked up. There, with seven crossbows outstretched and seven hands on undrawn katanas, stood the seven remaining _ry__ō__shi_. The wolves slowly clambered up, Cora looking to her brother for direction.

"You are trapped, Mr. Hale," the left-of-center one said in a Japanese accent, stepping forward and lowering his weapons before removing his mask. He was an older man, likely in his 60s by any standard. "Lay down your talons and come inside; we merely wish to talk."

"You wanna' talk?" Derek posed sarcastically. "You're killing my _brother_, you nearly blew us up, now we're cornered because of your barrier, and you wanna' _talk_?"

Their leader smirked and motioned for the others to stand at ease, each of them doing so synchronously. "Inside, Mr. Hale; there's something you need to see."

— | RIS | —

The five werewolves reluctantly accepted their escort to the basement of the temple and found themselves in a room with a single table with a folder on it and two chairs on opposite sides of it. They piled into the room and Isaac was given one of the chairs, his wound still bleeding. Derek stood next to him while the three stood evenly around them. The older man took the other seat and the other men fell into the shadows—even with heightened vision they still seemed invisible.

"I didn't think _ry__ō__shi_ ever talked to us," Derek said, his arms folding.

"They don't, Mr. Hale," the older man answered, leaving Derek with a confused look. "We are not _ry__ō__shi_." Aiden looked over at Derek as if to say _'What the hell did you get us into?'_

"Then why did you attack Scott?" Derek pushed, glaring down at the man.

"We were hired by a man claiming to have lost his sister to the alpha," he answered, opening the folder and retrieving the top sheet. "Do you know this man?" he said, rotating it and sliding it forward. Derek shook his head and looked at the others—none of them recognized the red head's photo paper-clipped to what looked like a background file. "His name is Julian Hall." Still nothing. "He seemed to have a great knowledge of Mr. McCall and his pack," the man continued, looking at Isaac in particular. "He gave us a specific window to attack. And how. He knew of the _ry__ō__shi_ as well," he said, looking back up at Derek. "He wanted the alpha to suffer."

"Why are you telling us this?" Isaac asked through burning eyes, using all of his control to restrain from slitting open the man's throat.

"Because he claimed he wanted 'Peter' to suffer," the man answered. Everyone froze, even Isaac. Confusion hit them first, and then, when he moved forward a stealthily taken shot of Scott and Isaac, understanding set in. "This was who he claimed attacked his sister," he continued, pointing at Scott's face. "After we attacked you," he said, his gaze shifting back to Isaac, "we discovered that this man's name is not Peter at all, but that it is Scott. My men started to dig further and they came up with this." First, he retrieved a newspaper clipping—it was the obituary of a one 'Jennifer Hall,' a nurse that worked at Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital. Only Derek understood the clue when a second full-print photo was pushed forward. There, standing with Julian Hall, was Peter Hale. "We know about your family's past, Mr. Hale. We know about the fire and we know about your uncle's homicidal, sociopathic tendencies."

"To say the least," Aiden grumbled and Cora shot him a nasty look.

"Wait, why hire you to make Scott suffer?" Isaac asked, looking at the documents spread out on the desk. But then it clicked. "Shit, we have get back to the hospital. Aiden, call your brother," Isaac ordered. Everyone got up to leave and Aiden dug out his phone when the older man continued.

"Not so fast, Mr. Lahey," he said. Everyone turned and looked back at him, desperation plastered on all their faces except Cora's. "We are still werewolf hunters," he continued, rising to his feet and the other six men circled in. And then a few more joined in, totaling the room to at least two dozen bodies. The werewolves looked around, ready to fight their way out when the man placed two vials on the table, one a thick, dark violet color, and the other a light, clear, pale green color. "However, we know of Mr. McCall's reputation. We know that beneath the beast that comes out on the full moon beats a heart full of light and the fire to do what is good. As the _kumicho_ of the Yasutori clan, I want to extend to you a peace offering, in hopes that one day we can be forgiven for this crime."

Of all the confused looks, Isaac's was the most stricken. "You want…_our_ forgiveness?"

"We want your forgiveness, Mr. Lahey. But most of all, we want Mr. McCall's. A true alpha is a rare thing, something that only happens once during a man's lifetime. We know what Scott McCall is capable of, not just in your world, but in ours. Please, accept these," he said, pointing to the vials. "The dark one will stop the venom corroding in your side. The lighter one will save your alpha." Isaac nodded, lifting the vials and shoving them into his pocket before the five walked through the opening made by the mass of hunters.

— | RIS | —

Ethan never picked up his phone and the panic that had already settled in immediately magnified. They raced back to the hospital, breaking multiple laws in the process—even Danny, the 'most pure' under Scott, almost hit a few pedestrians. When they pulled up to the hospital, Derek immediately identified Peter's scent amongst all those lingering in the halls. "He's here," he said and they ran off towards the ICU, gaining a few angry glares and remarks as they hurried.

When they turned down to hallway leading to the ICU wing, there was Ethan, lying across the bench. Aiden assumed the worst, but when they got there, his lazy brother was merely asleep. "Hey, asshole," Aiden said, kicking at his twin. "Get up!"

Ethan opened his eyes, grumbling as he looked at his brother with an annoyed stare. "What?" He looked around to see Cora, Danny, and Isaac each watching Derek as he pinged the desk secure wing. The same nurse from before walked up and frowned at seeing Derek's face. She hit the button from the inside and stepped out, looking more than peeved.

"It's Derek, right?" she asked, and Derek skeptically nodded. "Listen, hun,' I talked to Melissa; I know you're not Scott's brother. I dunno' why you lied, but quite frankly, I don't care. You're not family—you can't go back and see him."

Derek looked at Isaac behind him on his right. "Then take Isaac back there…_he_ needs to see Scott."

"He's not his brother either, and since Melissa's not here, I can't let him back there."

"Where is Melissa?" Isaac asked.

"I sent her home to freshen up a little. She probably left ten minutes ago; she'll be back soon." The nurse looked at Isaac's hopeful face, his eyes clearly pleading with this woman. "Look, Isaac, I like you. I see the way you care for him…your young love is sweet. But even if I wanted to…the doctor's in with him now."

"Dr. Fenris is back?" Isaac asked.

"No it's his assistant, Dr. Deaton I believe." Everyone seemed to let out a sigh of relief, that is until they looked down the hall and saw both Dr. Fenris and Dr. Deaton walking towards them, Stiles right behind. Isaac and Derek shared an alarmed knowing look and Isaac pushed past her first, Derek right behind. "Stop, you can't—call security!"

Isaac stopped, sliding in front of the room before darting in. There, looming over Scott, dressed in a dress-shirt and tie with a white doctor's coat covering most of his frame, was Peter Hale. He looked up and smirked, his hand crossing over onto Scott's throat and his claws sliding out so that they threatened to pierce the skin they were pressed against. "Good to see some friendly faces," he remarked.

"Get away from him," Isaac said, his eyes glowing a deep yellow.

"You can't win this one, Peter," Derek said just as he stepped beside Isaac. "Even if you kill him and take Scott's powers, there's six of us now. We'll kill you…for good this time."

"You've never really had much vision, Derek, have you?" Peter replied, clearly relaxed in this situation. "See, if I don't kill him, all the power that makes a true alpha will be lost. At least, if I do it, I'll spare the world of that deficit and plus, I'll spare Scott from the worst moments of his life. Do you know what these guys did to him? Do you know what effects Scott will go through in the last hour of his life?"

"Don't play games with me, Peter, we know you hired them," Derek replied, taking a step forward.

"Ah-ah," he remarks, tightening his grip a little more, one of the pointed claws piercing Scott's neck, evident by the light blood flow running down into the sheet. "I must admit, I'm a little impressed. Yes, I devised this whole thing, but that's old news. The question is what happens now," he said, looking at Isaac. "Do you let me spare him of the excruciating, conscious torture he'll go through in a few hours, or do watch him die knowing that you could have ended this painfully for him?"

"None of the above," Dr. Deaton said, walking in behind them. Derek and Isaac turned to look at him, his hands in his pocket, his face meaning all business.

"Doc…how good it is to see you," Peter said with one of his classic smiles.

"Wish I could say the same," Deaton replied calmly. "See, Isaac here has the cure. Your mercenaries gave it to him." Peter frowned immediately, looking from Deaton to Isaac; the blonde nodded and retrieved the small green liquid-filled vial. "Step away from Scott," Deaton warned. But Peter accepted that this was now his only chance. His muscles tightened to rip Scott's throat, but Deaton moved first. From his pocket he threw a large cloud of mountain ash at the former alpha and as it collided, Peter seemed to lose full control of his powers, forcing his claws to nails. He fell back against the wall as the ash surrounded him like chains and towards Deaton the ash soon formed into what looked like a rope, which the druid held onto with a tight grip. "Derek, Conrad is handling the nurse; she called off the security. Get the twins and get Peter out of here." Derek nodded and left the room, eliciting a great deal of (futile) struggle from the older Hale. "Isaac, I've got him. You should inject that into Scott's IV." He looked back at Peter. "Use the whole thing just to be sure."

Isaac nodded and took a few steps to Scott's bedside. In the emergency supply cart below the IV he found a syringe which he promptly filled. He looked at Scott's near-lifeless form and pushed the liquid into the cord leading to the bag. Just then, Derek and the twins walked into the room and grabbed hold of Peter right after Deaton go of the magical rope, all of it somehow appearing in Deaton's hand. They led Peter out of the room, the twins on his arms and Derek with a set of claws in his back; Isaac was already seated by Scott, resuming his touch with Scott's hand. "Give it some time," Deaton said, gripping his shoulder before walking out himself.

— | RIS | —

Isaac awoke to a sensation on his cheek; someone was caressing the light peach fuzz and it was staring to tickle. His eyes fluttered open and, rather than seeing a concerned Melissa by his side, he saw those beautiful brown orbs in front of him, a weak smile beneath them beaming down at him. "Scott—"

"I'm glad you're here," Scott said, his voice even weaker than his smile. "I'm glad you're alright."

Isaac lifted his head and smirked, even laughing a little to himself. "You have no idea," Isaac said, leaning forward and kissing his alpha tenderly.

"I love you, Isaac," Scott said against the blonde's lips.

"I love you, too."


End file.
